Study: Dist. 46 High Schools Need Overhaul

October 13, 1992|By Janice Bjorklund.

Not only will the growing Elgin-based Unit School District 46 need a fourth high school in the mid-1990s, but the district`s three high schools will need extensive updates to prepare them for the 21st Century, a recently released report that was two years in the making concludes.

To keep up with current and future technologies, Elgin, Larkin and Streamwood High Schools not only need, among other things, expensive computers and software, but space with an infrastructure that can support the technology that will prepare students for the computer world, the report says.

But Larkin High School, about 30 years old and the oldest in the district, has even more basic problems, Larkin principal Renata Matthaeus told the school board. Larkin was built for between 1,200 and 1,600 students. This year the school has more than 2,100 students.

Just some of the school`s problems are water pipes full of sediment and rust, broken windows and doors, a leaky roof, leaking plumbing and a heating system that keeps some rooms at 90 degrees while others are in the 60s, Matthaeus said.

Offices for the expanded staff, painting and carpet replacement are also needed, she said. And it needs an auditorium that`s at least big enough to house the number of students in one class, she said.

Elgin High School, about 20 years old, was built to have air conditioning but, because of cost overruns, the system was never installed, the report says. In the report, many of the departments list better ventilation as a top priority.

Streamwood High School, the district`s newest, doesn`t have a lot of basic building improvements on its wish list. However, to have a state-of-the- art photo lab, it lists more than $40,000 worth of needed equipment.

``We should be ashamed of ourselves because we are not taking care of our schools,`` board member Steve Wasilowski said.